St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

Articles from July 21, 1996

WITH 53 TWA employees or relatives among the dead, union leaders for flight attendants, pilots and mechanics on Saturday showed their own grief and gave an emotional defense of how the company has handled the aftermath of Flight 800's crash."Fifty-three...

By the sound of things, visitors to the Vipers lockerroom Friday night would have thought the Vipers had just won the Murphy Cup, Roller Hockey International's championship.That wasn't the case, but the Vipers did beat the Ottawa Loggers 5-4 in front...

THE peacock feather has become an exclamation point. NBC, the industry joke goes, stands for "Never Been Cockier." Last season, NBC officially settled in at No. 1, and the network has a lot of wins to brag about: first with both total viewers and viewers...

IF the box-office roller coaster keeps on rolling, "Independence Day" will eventually become the highest-grossing movie of all time, surpassing "Jurassic Park" and leading the way to a record-demolishing $2.5 billion summer take.Trivia question: Other...

Tired of all the Olympics-related advertising and promotions yet?You soon may be.You can look forward to more than 20 hours of TV commercials from national advertisers and countless more hours of local ads, all squeezed into NBC's 171 1/2 hours of telecasts.Expect...

For one brief shining moment about two months ago, it actually looked as if Bob Dole was going to pull it all together.His dramatic Senate departure was followed by a masterful finesse of the abortion issue. His speeches on social issues like teen pregnancy...

While Joe Torre used a towel in a less-than-successful attempt to stanch the rivers of sweat pouring off his face - the result of 15 minutes of hard labor pitching batting practice at humidity-rich County Stadium - he was asked to contemplate how much...

THE OLYMPICS are about grand visions - forget the world as it is and imagine how it could be - and in my first couple of days here I have already had two.The first occurred at the Nike party Thursday night.To me, Nike had always been just a shoe company....

Despite the grim and growing record of anti-American terrorism, placing a bomb on a U.S. airliner is still easier than getting a gun or a knife on board, senior U.S. counterterrorism officials say.Moreover, while federal officials generally have assumed...

Susan Burney wants to tell us what she learned in the second grade this year.Susan Burney is a teacher. She says her 23 students taught her a lot.Tabitha told her, "Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and . . . you'll just get mad."Mitchell said,...

The latest potshot came from Bob Costas, meaning Dante Bichette was subjected to a national broadside. Fans across the country snickered during the All-Star Game when Costas referred to Bichette as "the poster boy" for Coors Field.It has become fashionable...

MISS MANNERS has warned you Americans over and over again.If you don't sit down and behave, she's going to turn this country around and take you right back home.No, wait. That sounds rude. And Miss Manners is not rude - never has been, never will be.How...

What began as a slow day for China's favored swimmers ended as a big night for America's underdogs.Le Jingyi salvaged the first day of competition for the Chinese, winning the 100-meter freestyle in an Olympic-record time in the opening event.But the...

THERE WAS a time when rich American gardeners would plant mint around their swimming pools just to mow it for bathers who liked walking on scented leaves.There are stories about a turn-of-the-century botanist who instructed all of his students to stare...

THE HAPPINESS OF GETTING IT DOWN RIGHTLetters of Frank O'Connor and William Maxwell 1945-1966Edited by Michael Steinman368 pages, Knopf, $26THIS CORRESPONDENCE between two masterful writers tells many stories. There is, first and foremost, the story...

Late Start Is No Bother For U.S. BaseballNicaragua was the opening opponent, but outside obstacles turned out to be the real foe as the United States began its quest for baseball gold with a 4-1 win Saturday.The game didn't start until 10:30 a.m., a...

Threads woven in intricate patterns appear delicate, but the art of lace is a strong bond for the friendships of the Heartland Lace Guild.Formed in Paducah, Ky., six years ago, the guild was started as a support group for people who either made lace...

WILMA UNLIMITEDHow Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest WomanBy Kathleen KrullIllustrated by David Diaz44 pages, Harcourt Brace, $16, Ages 7-12ANY WOULD-BE track star should jump at the chance to read this amazing story of a gutsy woman and one of...

The Better Business Bureau system has voted to allow the bureaus nationwide to charge for their services for the first time in 84 years.During more than a month of mail-in balloting that ended last week, the bureau system voted 511-399 in favor of a...

A WEDDING IS an important rite of passage, moored in ceremony, tradition and romance. I've always found weddings to be inspiring and exciting, and as a guest, I like to give a gift that reflects the significance of the event.When I'm searching for a...

If Gene Mauch managed more games than any other famed field foreman except Connie Mack, John McGraw and Bucky Harris and never saw it . . .If Tony La Russa is in the 18th major-league season of a glamorous career as a boss in the bigs and never saw it...

Derek Bell singled home the winning run off Greg Maddux with two outs in the ninth inning as Houston won 2-1 Saturday in front of its fourth-largest crowd in team history.Maddux (10-7) had retired 23 consecutive batters and allowed only two hits entering...

To see or not to see that is the question.And it's a hot one in Belleville, where the District 201 School Board is considering whether high school students should watch R-rated movies in the classroom. Superintendent Leo Hefner will present a proposed...

Investigators scoured the sea floor for the scattered wreckage of TWA Flight 800, hunting evidence to nail down the cause of the disaster.Of the bodies recovered from the ocean so far, none yet showed any sign of having been the victim in a bomb explosion,...

A bomb allegedly linked to Unabomber defendant Theodore Kaczynski exploded near his remote Montana cabin four days after his arrest, according to prosecution documents released Friday.No one was injured in the blast April 7. At the time, several residents...

While Joe Torre used a towel in a less-than-successful attempt to stanch the rivers of sweat pouring off his face - the result of 15 minutes of hard labor pitching batting practice at humidity-rich County Stadium - he was asked to contemplate how much...

WORLDSPAINTerrorists Bomb Airport, 2 Luxury HotelsThree terrorist bombs exploded within a few minutes of each other Saturday in Spain, two in luxury hotels in Barcelona and one at an airport at Tarragona, about 55 miles to the west. An estimated 14 people...

WORLDSPAINTerrorists Bomb Airport, 2 Luxury HotelsThree terrorist bombs exploded within a few minutes of each other Saturday in Spain, two in luxury hotels in Barcelona and one at an airport at Tarragona, about 55 miles to the west. An estimated 14 people...

THEY WERE ROUNDED UP under false pretense, driven off the land they loved and marched across a sweltering prairie at gun and bayonet point. As they sickened in the heat, they were crammed into baggage wagons, where many of them died.They were part of...

The man who oversees taxicab operations for St. Louis County government received a used station wagon last year from the owner of one of the cab companies he monitors.The official is John P. Hill, the county's cab supervisor for nearly four decades....

SOME GOOD NEWS came out of last week's meeting of the Laumeier Sculpture Park's board of directors.Park director Beej Nierengarten-Smith reported to the board that a registrar has been added to the staff, that a CPA has been secured for the business...

If only the Wizard of Oz could have met the magic of Maz.As Ozzie Smith plays out his final season for the St. Louis Cardinals, baseball fans are saying goodbye to probably the greatest fielding shortstop of all time.Maybe it also is time to say hello...

More than 4 1/2 hours after the Cardinals started playing the Chicago Cubs on Friday night at Busch Stadium, fans had seen more of the Olympics opening ceremony than they had of baseball action.Soggy through two lengthy rain delays, the Cardinals put...

WHEN YOU HIT the vacation trail, what portion of your expenses is paid in cash and what portion with credit cards? A travel-trade group surveyed 1,500 adults nationwide and found that they spent, on average, $1,442 on their last pleasure trip. Fifty-one...

OK, enough of the feel-good, we-are-the-world, share-a-Coke, we'd-like-to-teach-the-world-to-sing Olympics.It's time for some old-fashioned, mean-spirited, Archie Bunker/Pat Buchanan jingoism. The Olympics aren't really the Olympics unless you can f...

Of the local members of the House of Representatives who have contested races in Missouri's primary Aug. 6, few face strenuous opposition. All of them deserve renomination.William Clay, in the 1st District, is the only incumbent facing a reputable opponent....

The Cardinals' shortstop situation sticky, contentious and uncomfortable a month ago - now is almost blissful.Royce Clayton, who sits out once or twice a series for Ozzie Smith, said, "The biggest part of this was the chance to make myself a better pla...

Welfare reform legislation now being debated in the Senate is unacceptable to President Clinton in its current form, the White House said Saturday.Clinton, who took office promising to overhaul the welfare system, has vetoed two previous GOP bills, saying...

Rarely does a single action so perfectly encapsulate a presidency as Bill Clinton's last-minute decision on the Cuban trade boycott. Here was the issue: Clinton had until midnight this past Tuesday to waive one particularly strict provision of the Helms-Burton...

MAPS AND GLOBES made in the 18th and 19th centuries are becoming more popular with collectors. Perhaps it is because the boundaries for so many countries have changed.The first printed maps in England were made in 1573 by Christopher Saxton. He produced...

George Washington never slept at the Westerfield House in Freeburg, but he would feel right at home if he dropped in today. The garden walkways surrounding the log cabin are lined with herbs common to Colonial times. Inside, the rooms are lighted entirely...

A survey of doctors who treat long-term coma patients shows that most believe that patients kept alive in nursing homes and rehabilitative centers would be better off dead - even though many of the patients may be aware of their surroundings.In surveying...

Our Town's Bob Costas woke up Saturday to a fair amount of criticism from America's sporting press over his performance as co-anchor for Friday night's opening ceremony. To wit:Phil Kloer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Enberg is fine at play-by-play,...

All My Children: Dimitri and Maria feel uneasy around each other because they feel guilty about sleeping together. Liza fretted when Stuart kept talking about finding Skye (Toni). Edmund ran into Maria when he took Toni (Skye), who had trouble breathing,...

Oscar De La Hoya won the Super Lightweight boxing championship on June 7. Now he'll try to win your heart.The Olympic gold medalist worked his way out of a Los Angeles barrio to take the WBC belt from Mexican national treasure Julio Cesar Chavez in f...

Her appearance in The Michelob Light Heartland Classic this next week won't be entirely novel for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale women's golf coach Diane Daugherty. She has competed in LPGA events before, including seven times as a qualifier...

HOURS BEFORE the crash of TWA Flight 800, a Federal Aviation Administration advisory commission took the first steps toward a new review of security at America's airports.If the disaster turns out to be the work of sabotage, there is likely to be a renewed...

Many have been shot, and hundreds of others slashed or hacked to death. All were buried in makeshift graves by killers who probably assumed they would never be held accountable.They didn't count on Dr. Robert H. Kirschner sifting through the remains...

Open HeartA novel by A.B. YehoshuaTranslated by Dalga Bilu498 pages, Doubleday, $24.95THERE IS presently occurring in Israel a flowering of creative writing that has attracted worldwide attention. International publishers are bringing to light excellent...

THE DAY is cold and windy when we pull up at the well-manicured grounds at Vacation Break corporate headquarters, but inside all is cozy and efficient. Two by two, couples of various ages from various states are led away to the dining room by salespeople...

His weight is the same, his cholesterol count down, his blood pressure normal. On the eve of his 73rd birthday, GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole declares, "If I don't have a health problem, I don't have an age problem."Nonetheless, Dole says, as president...

From the California desert to the Wyoming mountains, motorists are celebrating the repeal of the 21-year-old 55 mph national speed limit with their accelerators.Nowhere can you drive so far so fast as in the West. Eight states in the region raised the...

Dear Dr. Donohue: Is there a way to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome? Two members of my immediate family have had it. They each work with their hands intensely on a daily basis.Carpal tunnel syndrome involves painful compression of the main wrist nerve from...

An eagle at the par-5 18th produced the leader once again at the Burnet Senior Classic in Coon Rapids, Minn.But on Saturday it was Jim Dent who used the finishing hole to jump to the front of the field.Dent hit a fairway driver 260 yards to 25 feet on...

Breit'n up your garden with this easy-to-make birdbath, one of dozens of ideas in Mary Engelbreit's newest book, "Mary Engelbreit's Outdoor Companion" (Andrews and McMeel, $24.95).From porches to pools, the volume is packed with lush photos and temp...

A DOZEN OR MORE years after the term was coined, "ecotourism" remains a word in search of a definition.Throughout the '90s, travel marketers have played fast and loose with the language and symbolism of ecotourism.As used - and abused - to promote nature...

Between a carpet warehouse and a paint supplies place in a small industrial area lies the training ground for a group of hopeful future Olympic competitors.They are among the best in the country at what they do."We train several hours every day, as much...

Among many baseball myths is that players dislike umpires. Not so. Eric Gregg, the veteran National League umpire, is back at work after three months at the Duke University diet clinic and is hearing nothing but encouraging words. He lost 55 pounds to...

WHILE the commercial networks endure another ho-hum summer of reruns, PBS continues to lure viewers with original programming, such as "Evening at Pops."The 111-year-old Boston Pops Orchestra is presenting its 27th year of summer telecasts with concerts...

Fred Saigh ended a 44-year-old boycott Friday night when he entered Busch Stadium for the first time.He sat down three rows behind home plate and prepared to watch his first Cardinals home game since September 1952.Saigh, who turned 91 last month on...

They tell us Kirby Puckett can't see a baseball anymore, and it seems hard to believe. He always saw this game better than most.Puckett is one of the good guys. It's that simple. He played the game because he loved it, and everybody who watched him had...

Hoping to comfort the families of the passengers lost on TWA Flight 800, government officials agreed Saturday to fly a small group of relatives and family representatives across the tossing waters that swallowed the plane, allowing them to see the crash...

TOUCHED WITH FIREBy Eric Bergerud566 pages, Viking, $34.95JUST WHEN you think historians have mined World War II for all it's worth, along comes Eric Bergerud with a fascinating addition to all those editions.Bergerud's "Touched With Fire" is fine history,...

When a driver is killed on a race track, the sport's world expresses shock and outrage and fingers are pointed. Blame is afixed.Scott Brayton died after a practice-lap crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, and it was suggested in some circles...

With a U.S. Olympic basketball team whose combined NBA salaries rival the gross national products of some nations, it's refreshing to recall that the modern Games began as a wondrously innocent celebration of the amateur ideal.So take a timeout from...

Perhaps embittered by extensive drug testing aimed primarily at them, the Chinese athletes are doing the most complaining so far about conditions in Atlanta."The diet here, quite frankly, is not suited to us," team spokesman Yan Pingquan said. What?...

TWA Flight 800 carried an extraordinary congregation of people - people who always moved forward, out of drive or vision or accident of birth.They included a philanthropist flying to France to rejoin her children on vacation; three businessmen trying...

Never mind pushing himself away. Coach Rich Brooks said the training camp food is so tasty at Western Illinois University, he had to jog away from the table."The food is outstanding," Brooks said Thursday. "That's why I ran last night during dinner and...

No matter how long investigators take to come up with a final answer about what brought down TWA Flight 800, the pain of those who lost loved ones will last far longer. Each of the 230 victims will sear memories into the minds of those left to ponder...

He left the National Football League in disgrace nearly four years ago, his potential unfulfilled, his career torn apart by allegations of steroid abuse.But now Tony Mandarich is ready to take the first steps in repairing his tattered image, embarking...

Bob James has performed frequently in St. Louis over the past two decades - as the leader of his own contemporary jazz ensembles and as one of the members of the popular jazz fusion all-star band, Fourplay.But with his appearance at Westport Playhouse...

For the first 10 weeks of the Major League Soccer season, the Los Angeles Galaxy was the talk of the league as it won its first 12 games. Opposing teams griped that the Galaxy had been helped by an easy schedule with plenty of off-days and good players...

OVER THE YEARS, Doc and Katy Abraham collected a bumper crop of gardening myths, which they debunk in a new 154-page book, "Green Thumb Wisdom."It is filled with tips on houseplants, flowers, seeds and bulbs, vegetables, fruits and nuts, trees and shrubs,...

HERE ARE four more recent garden books, recommended by the staff at Barnes & Noble."The Best Flowers for Midwest Gardens," by Laara K. Duggan ($14.95, Chicago Review Press). Duggan understands that the Midwest may have rich soil, but extremes in climate...

A jury has awarded $22 billion to an American company that claims the late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos stole a golden Buddha statue filled with gems from a treasure hunter."As far as I know, it is the largest verdict probably in the history...

CLARENCE HARMON stabbed bites of melon from his fruit plate as he discussed his job with United Van Lines, a job he's held since stepping down as the city's police chief late last year.He explained how he'd adjusted in the private sector after working...

`WHEN I saw it in New York. . .""When I saw it in London. . .""When I saw it a few years ago. . ."Sometimes I think those are the most destructive words in the theater-going experience.Sometimes I think it would be ideal if we could all go to the theater...

JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR from the start, this is not a "How to" article on home offices. Personally, I hate "How to" anything - books, lectures, essays, T-shirts, coffee mugs, etc. . . .My anxiety soars at the thought that someone else has already figured...

If men were allowed to operate unchecked by women in our society, every day would play out like a toga party.The natural order includes a critical system of checks and balances according to gender. Occasionally, though, there is slippage - like when...

Dr. Wu Zhaoguang, 72, ambles through the unlit halls of Zhongshan Hospital, stopping to see patients crowded four to a room, to perform the art of healing. He guides the insertion of a catheter into a stoic, gritting man who is recovering from his third...

ONE OF THE burning fashion issues of the season - as in burning up - is: Should I wear pantyhose?For some women, that makes about as much sense as asking: Should I swathe my legs in Saran Wrap and do aerobics in a sauna?"Not only do I not wear them,...

By 7:45 a.m. each day, Marion Russell of Brentwood is stuck in what she calls "an armpit" - the tangled union of Brentwood Boulevard, Highway 40 and Interstate 170.From there, her commute gets worse. Russell takes Highway 40 to and from her nursing job...

IT'S THE DAY before the start of their big outdoor vacation, and our typical American family is checking its equipment before heading off for Yellowstone National Park. First item on the list?No, it isn't a tent, fishing gear, map, compass, credit cards...

China's growing military might and assertiveness on the open seas have replaced troops in the Russian Far East as Japan's major defense worry, a government report said Friday.The annual Defense Agency report, subtitled "Response to a New Era," pointed...

Earlier this year, when Judge David Mason of St. Louis began sentencing criminals to meditation, some of his friends and colleagues started calling him "the space judge."But despite the mocking nickname and skeptical responses, Mason says he plans to...

With a bistate sales tax on the November ballot, could a refurbished Union Station here with a gleaming new science museum inside someday be more than a dream?Don't bet on it.Despite the efforts of a task force to surmount the sometimes acrimoni ous...

THE RATINGS GAME: The big news in the Arbitron radio survey for spring 1996, covering March 28-June 19, is that the modern rocker KPNT-FM has tied the big guns of album rock station KSHE-FM for fifth in the overall ratings, which track the 12-and-up...

Investigators using sonar equipment detected a large object on the ocean floor where TWA Flight 800 went down that they suspect is the fuselage of the Boeing 747, officials said Saturday."This is what we want," said James Kallstrom, assistant director...

Tom Lehman only needed to look back as far as the Masters to know that his 6-stroke lead over Nick Faldo after three rounds at the British Open was anything but safe.Lehman's course-record 64 Saturday and his 54-hole British Open record 198 was a masterful...

All right, you're Tom Lehman and you're at the British Open.You have a 6-shot lead going into the last round of a major championship.You just can't lose, so help you Greg Norman, right?Uh, better think back to the last day of the Masters, when the azaleas...

At home on the fast track, the rookie driver deftly powers his race cart through a turn on the blacktop course at the Jim Hall Kart Racing School.Hitting speeds of up to 70 mph, ensconced just inches above the raceway's asphalt as he sits stretched out...

There were days past when Marv Levy didn't talk about his age, but of late it has become a point of pride."I'll be 71 this year," he said. "Somebody told me the other day that George Halas was the oldest coach ever in the National Football League. He...

Love letters that Dr. Sam Sheppard wrote to his wife, Marilyn, 50 years ago could help to solve the mystery of her slaying.Of greatest value is not the intimate words shared between the young couple during the 1940s, but rather the microscopic remains...

ON A TYPICAL Working day, Barry Schimmel of the TWA flight attendants union deals with questions of arbitration, negotiations and contracts.But since the destruction of Flight 800, Schimmel has been dealing with questions of death benefits and other...

David Khakhaleichvili awoke with a toothache Saturday. Then things really got painful.Khakhaleichvili, of the Republic of Georgia, was favored to win the heavyweight judo competition, as he did four years ago in Barcelona. But he won't. He was disqualified...

During the largest strike now under way in the United States, accountants are machining aluminum parts, engineers are riveting wings, secretaries are driving forklifts and McDonnell Douglas Corp. says it is getting back to normal.And the 6,700 Machinists...

For some concerned citizens in these parts, it was cause for great alarm. Just before the Rams announced their decision on this year's training camp site, Macomb had a murder, its first in seven years."Every town's got their old boys that (complain)...

Former St. Louisan Joe Lychner dropped three roses Saturday from a helicopter over the area where TWA Flight 800 went down in the Atlantic. The flowers were for his wife, Pamela, 37, and their two daughters, Shannon, 10, and Katie, 8, who were aboard...